#dosomethingkind: Ugo Ehiogu's poignant last tweet goes viral hours after his death

Ugo Ehiogu's final tweet urging people to #dosomethingkind has begun to go viral following the 44-year-old's shock death.

Ehiogu, who served as Tottenham's Under-23 coach after a 20-year playing career, suffered a cardiac arrest at the north London club's training facilities on Thursday afternoon. He was pronounced dead on Friday morning.

His death has sparked an outpouring of grief on social media with his former clubs, teammates and colleagues paying tribute to a player who was a constant presence in English football throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

The former defender's final tweet – posted on 29 March – has also struck a poignant note, with thousands of users promoting his message #dosomethingkind in his memory.

It read: "Gave a homeless girl £10 last night in Dalston. She didn't ask or beg. Random impulsive act from me. Not gonna life, felt good." His tweet has already attracted 4000 retweets.

Ehiogu, who took up his coaching role at Tottenham in 2014, played for West Brom, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, Leeds United, Rangers and Sheffield United, also winning four caps for England between 1996 and 2002.

The Londoner memorably scored in a 3-0 friendly victory over Spain in Sven Goran-Eriksson's first game in charge of the Three Lions – a Spanish side that featured current Barcelona and Manchester City managers Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola – in 2001.

Tottenham's head of coaching and player development John McDermott, who worked alongside Ehiogu said: "Words cannot express the shock and sadness that we all feel at the club. Ugo's immense presence will be irreplaceable. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to his wife Gemma and his family."

Several members of Tottenham's Under-23 side who were coached by Ehiogu on a daily basis have begun to pay tribute to their coach. Josh Onomah, who has since graduated into Mauricio Pochettino's first-team at White Hart Lane described Ehiogu as "way more than just a coach, a father figure as well."

Shayon Harrison, one of the club's brightest prospects wrote: "One of the most genuine and caring people I've ever met. An honour to have been taught by you, not only as a player, but as a person."